EX-SERVICEMEN DEMAND OROP

Aug 8, 2015, 02.45 PM IST, MYSURU: Members of the Military Veterans Welfare Association has urged the Union government to implement one r...

Aug 8, 2015, 02.45 PM IST, MYSURU: Members of the Military Veterans Welfare Association has urged the Union government to implement one rank one pension (OROP) with immediate effect.

P Lakshman, secretary of the association said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to implement OROP if BJP was elected to power. "Even a year after assuming office, he has not fulfilled his promise. It is a long-pending demand," he added.

The OROP scheme seeks to ensure that a uniform pension is paid to defence personnel who retire at the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of their date of retirement.

At present, the pension of an ex-serviceman is based on the recommendations of the pay commission at the time of his retirement. Currently, those who retired before 2006 draw less pension than their counterparts and even their juniors.

He said that nearly 6,000 members of the association from Mysuru, Chamarajanagara, Hassan and Kodagu districts have extended their support to the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to pressurize the Union government to implement the scheme.